G.R. No. L-1271, December 4, 1903
THE UNITED STATES, complainant-appellee, vs. TELESFORO DASAL, ET AL., defendants-appellants.

FACTS:
On the night of August 13, 1902, a mutiny occurred on board the American merchant steamer Dos Hermanos, which was anchored in the harbor of Virac, Catanduanes. A group of crew members, led by helmsman Telesforo Dasal and quartermaster Pantaleon Cajilig, armed with knives, daggers, and iron bars, attacked the ship’s officers. Chief Engineer Antonio Agudo was killed, suffering ten wounds. Captain Miguel Morales, First Mate Juan Zabala, and Second Engineer Fabian Rendon were wounded. The steward, Vicente Amellategui, and the Chinese carpenter, Tan Chuen, disappeared and were presumed dead. The mutineers attempted to seize the vessel by raising the anchor, starting the engines, and cutting the stern cable. Their escape was thwarted by Constabulary Lieutenant Fletcher, who boarded the moving vessel, stopped the engines, and arrested several mutineers. An information for murder was filed against thirty-five persons. Before trial, two defendants died, and the case was dismissed for two others.

ISSUE:
Whether the accused are guilty of the crime of murder for the killing of Antonio Agudo during the mutiny, and what are the proper criminal liabilities and penalties.

RULING:
The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court below.
1. Telesforo Dasal was found guilty as a principal in the crime of murder. As helmsman and a leader of the mutiny, he abused his position of trust and committed the crime with treachery (alevosía). No mitigating circumstances were present. He was sentenced to death, with the corresponding accessory penalties.
2. Benigno Parra, Pablo Concepcion, Gregorio Almondia, Pedro Rodriguez, Emilio Lebiga, and Rufino de Jesus were found guilty as accomplices. They were each sentenced to seventeen years of cadena temporal, with the accessory penalties of civil interdiction, absolute perpetual disqualification, and subjection to the vigilance of the authorities.
3. Juan Briguela (assistant engineer) and twenty-two other defendants were acquitted due to lack of evidence proving their participation in the mutiny or the murder. The Court held that for Briguela, the evidence did not overcome the reasonable doubt that he started the engines under compulsion and threat of death.
4. All convicted defendants were ordered to pay, pro rata or in solidum, an indemnity of 1,000 pesos to the heirs of Antonio Agudo.
5. The Court affirmed its jurisdiction under Act No. 400 , as the crime was committed on a merchant vessel registered in the Philippines and the vessel later entered the port of Manila.